Woods Named Daktronics First Team All-American; National POTY Runner-Up

March 23, 2011

EDINBORO, P.A. – University of Alaska Fairbanks senior Parrish West has been named the 2011 Daktronics Division II Men’s Basketball Ron Lenz National Player of the Year. Pfeiffer University senior Chris Woods (Thomasville, NC) was named a first-team All-American as the National Player of the Year Runner-Up. The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

West is a 6’5”, 190 lb. forward who ranks as the top scorer in NCAA Division II and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 27.2 ppg. He also stands sixth in the GNAC in rebounding (6.2 ppg.) and third in steals (1.8 per game). He made 241 of 483 field goal attempts (49.9 pct.), including 29 of 98 three-pointers, and was a frequent visitor to the free throw line, making 170 of 221 (76.9 pct.). He added 56 assists and 45 steals.

The Chicago, IL native scored 681 points, breaking the school record for single-game scoring with 43 points against Saint Martin’s, five days after scoring 40 points vs. Simon Fraser. He set a GNAC record with 13 games of 30-or-more points, along with seven consecutive 30-point games and two 40-point efforts. He was a first team All-GNAC choice. West led the Nanooks in scoring in 21 of 25 games

The Daktronics’ first team features five seniors, with two of those players leading their teams to the Elite Eight. All told, four players are still alive for the NCAA Division II National Championship.

West Liberty’s Corey Pelle and Jordan Fortney earned first and third team Daktronics All-American honors, respectively. Bloomfield’s Gage Daye is also a first team choice, while Bellarmine’s Jeremy Kendle was accorded third team honors.

Daye was the lone player to be a repeat selection from last year, moving up from the second team to earn first team accolades this year.

The First TeamIn addition to West, the 2011 Daktronics first team is led by Chris Woods of Pfeiffer, the Daktronics Southeast Region Player of the Year. A 6’5” forward, he was named the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year after averaging a league-high 24.3 ppg. and ranking second in rebounding (10.0 rpg.) and field goal percentage (59.6 pct.) and fourth in blocked shots (37). He also shot 82.0 percent from the line (196 of 239). He ranked 19th in Division II in rebounding

Woods was a first team all-conference selection for the third straight season after averaging 22.2 ppg. as a junior and 16.1 ppg. as a sophomore. He concluded his career with over 2,000 career points while scoring 30-or-more points ten times in 2010-11 and finishing with 17 double-doubles.

Gage Daye, a 6’2” guard from Bloomfield, earns Daktronics All-American honors for the second straight year. The senior has led the Deacons to a 24-8 record and a berth in the Elite Eight. He scored 22 points as Bloomfield defeated Bentley in the East Regional championship game. Daye was named the Daktronics East Region Player of the Year and was also named the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Daye is averaging 23.7 ppg., fourth in Division II, after averaging 26.0 ppg. as a junior, second in the country. He is shooting 41.9 percent from the floor and has made 69 of 205 three-pointers, along with going 232 of 306 (75.7 pct.) from the line. He adds 6.5 rpg. with 172 assists and 55 steals. Daye recently became Bloomfield’s all-time leading scorer and heads to the Elite Eight with 2,420 career points.

Corey Pelle is one of two West Liberty players to earn Daktronics All-American honors, joined by teammate Jordan Fortney, a third team selection. The duo has led the Hilltoppers to a perfect 32-0 record and a berth in the Elite Eight. West Liberty defeated Indiana(Pa.) to capture the Atlantic Regional title, with Pelle leading the way with 23 points.

The 5’11” guard was named the Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year and was also selected the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He is averaging a team-high 16.7 ppg. for the free-wheeling Hilltopper attack which is averaging 111.6 ppg. He also leads the WVIAC in assists (195 – 6.1 per game) and steals (97 – 3.0 per game). He is shooting 52.1 percent from the floor (200 of 384), with 31 three-pointers in 109 attempts, and 68.0 percent from the line ( 104 of 153). He ranks second in Division II in steals and seventh in assists.

The senior has broken his own school record for steals in a season and holds West Liberty career records for assists (636) and steals (326). He is a three-time All-WVIAC selection, including first team honors the last two years, and has scored 1,900 career points, fifth all-time at West Liberty.

The final member of the first team is big Justin Keenan of Ferris State. The 6’7”, 265 lb. senior led the Bulldogs to the championship game of the Midwest Regional where they lost to Bellarmine. Ferris State finished with a 24-8 record and won its first league championship in six years.

Keenan was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second time, just the third player in GLIAC history to earn the honor more than once, after leading the league in scoring for the third straight year and also leading in rebounding. He averaged 21.6 ppg. and 9.7 rpg. He ranks 15th in Division II in scoring and 20th in rebounding.

In addition, he shot 55.3 percent from the floor (225 of 407) and made an incredible 235 free throws in 343 attempts.

He became the GLIAC’s all-time leading scorer in the final regular season game and concluded his brilliant career with 2,259 points, second all-time in Ferris State history. He also ranks third in career rebounds (901).

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